India Recap 2021: From Vaccine Century to General Rawat's death - What all made headlines

The year 2021 saw India recording several glorious moments. From achieving the distant goal of Covid vaccination to scripting history in Olympics and losing its top military leader, India's journey throughout the year was full of many ups and downs. Let's take a quick recap of events that made headlines in the country in 2021: 

Farmers Protest 

It was on January 26, the day India celebrates Republic Day, a group of farmers hailing from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh defied police orders and started pouring in from Delhi borders armed with tractors. Just as India's military might and cultural diversity were on display at the majestic Rajpath in Delhi, the 'peaceful tractor march' by farmers took a violent turn as they created chaos and unleashed violence on roads. They clashed with the police and barged into the iconic Red Fort. They also attacked cops, vandalised police vehicles and the ticket counter at the Red Fort. Some of them hoisted religious flags at Red Fort, the Mughal-era monument from where the Prime Minister addresses the nation on Independence Day. The saffron flag hoisted by protesters was the 'Nishan Sahib', a symbol of Sikh religion seen at all Gurdwara complexes. The 'Nishan Sahib' is a triangular flag that is sacred to Sikhs. The flag is seen at all Gurdwara complexes. The emblem on the flag comprises 'Khanda', a two-edged sword, Chakra, a disc, and two Kirpans that cross each other at the handles. The other flag appeared to be of a farmer union. Security officials exercised the utmost level of restraint as directed by the government. Later, several farmers leaders tried to justify the protest as they blamed the police for blocking the roads and not allowing them to hold a 'tractor parade' as promised. The farmers' protest against the three farm laws could have ended had the police taken stern action against those behind defying the police orders and deviating from the designated route for the tractor parade. The violence brought shame for the country on a day when the world accolades India's remarkable democratic journey. The protest which started on November 26, 2020, finally ended on December 11, 2021, after the government repealed the three agri laws. Farmers' agitation 2021 Rewind | CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Vaccine Century

India achieved the landmark of administering 100 crore Covid-19 vaccines on October 21, reflecting the momentous journey and determination to fight against an invisible enemy. There were celebrations across the world to honour the country's momentous occasion. To commemorate the special day, India's largest khadi Tricolour weighing around 1,400 kg, was hoisted from the Red Fort. The country-wide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2. The next phase of vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1. The government then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICS

Covid Second Wave 

More than a year after the onset of the pandemic, in April the country saw the pandemic taking an ugly turn, something that was unpredictable. Even as the government was making efforts to scale up vaccination, the country started recording more than 4 lakh active cases and 40,000 deaths daily. This came as a huge setback for the country because up until that point, with the rollout of Covid vaccines and its administration, a sigh of relief was expected. Instead, the cases started spiralling. The rise in mutant variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus -- Delta (B.1.617.2), even led to concerns regarding vaccine effectiveness. Lockdown was once again imposed in almost all the states and industries were shut to arrest the spread of the virus. The shortage of Liquid Medical Oxygen, hospital beds exposed the grim reality of the country's healthcare system. The world rushed to help India, transporting medical equipment, medicines, ventilators, oxygen plants and more to save lives. The Ministry of Railways started running Oxygen Express to transport Liquid Medical Oxygen from one city to another. The situation was, however, brought under control with the scaling up vaccination and people strictly adhering to the Covid protocol. According to a study published by The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, the Covishield vaccine remained effective against moderate-to-severe Covid-19 even during the second wave. CORONAVIRUS FULL COVERAGE

Made in India Covid Vaccines  

Covaxin was one of the first two vaccines that were granted approval for emergency use in India by the DGCI. Developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the vaccine was approved in India in January. Bharat Biotech approached the World Health Organisation (WHO) seeking approval for emergency use. The WHO granted nod to the drug in November after assessing its efficacy and other factors. Covaxin is homegrown in all senses. The approval of indigenously-made drugs by the world body established India's pharmaceutical prowess in the world. 

The other vaccine that was granted emergency use nod in India by the DGCI in January is Covishield -- developed by the University of Oxford along with British pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca. Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer in terms of numbers, partnered with Oxford University to manufacture their Covid-19 vaccine in India. 

The third vaccine to obtain the regulator's nod for vaccination was Sputnik V. Developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, the two-dose Sputnik V is a vector vaccine produced using a combination of two adenoviruses called Ad5 and Ad26. In December, two more Covid vaccines and one pill were given the nod for emergency use. The two vaccines are Corbevax and Covovax and the anti-viral drug Molnupiravir. Other than this, vaccines that have been given the nod for emergency use in India are ZyCoV-D, Moderna, Corbevax, Covovax and Johnson and Johnson. However, these vaccines are currently not available in the market. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Kumbh Mela

The Haridwar Kumbh Mela, the mammoth religious congregation, ended on April 30 after triggering a scare that it might have acted as a coronavirus ‘super-spreader'. Despite the huge number of people gathering around Haridwar to take a dip in the holy Ganga, the 2021 event was a comparatively modest event -- reduced to just one month and scaled down midway due to the raging pandemic. Held over three months in normal circumstances, the Kumbh Mela formally began as late as April 1 due to concerns over COVID-19. According to a PTI report dated April 30, about 2,600 devotees tested positive out of the nearly two lakh tests conducted by medical personnel during the mela. Three shahi snans took place during the event on April 12, 14 and 27, the last one being reduced to a largely symbolic event. As the situation worsened due to the second wave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to appeal to the seers to keep their representation in Kumbh symbolic. It was after the Prime Minister's intervention that the crowds began petering out. The Joona Akhada, the largest among the sects which attend the mela, was the first to respond to PM Modi's appeal, followed by several other akhadas which withdrew from the event. Ordinary devotees then followed their example. Mela organisers claim that the event, among the largest religious gatherings on Earth, passed off without any serious untoward incident anywhere in the Kumbh Mela Kshetra spread over an area of 641 hectares from Haridwar to Devprayag. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Assembly Elections

Four states -- West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Union Territory Puducherry went to polls amid the pandemic. The elections saw massive crowds at rallies of politicians. All Covid norms had gone for a toss and this was among other reasons that added to rising cases. In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the assembly polls with 213 of the 292 seats, while the main rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 77 seats. In Assam, the election saw the incumbent BJP-led NDA retaining power with 75 seats, which marked the first time a non-Congress alliance winning consecutive terms in the state. The Mahajot led by Congress won 50 seats. Kerala too saw the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) retaining power, marking the first time that an alliance won consecutive terms in the state since its 1977 election. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK led by MK Stalin won the election, ending the decade-long reign of the AIADMK. The poll was Tamil Nadu's first assembly election after the demise of the two most prominent Chief Ministers -- J Jayalalithaa of AIADMK and M Karunanidhi of DMK, who died in 2016 and 2018, respectively. In Puducherry, the AINRC-led NDA captured power, dethroning the Congress government led by Narayanasamy.

Air India Divestment

Tata Sons, the holding company of Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Group, won the bid to take control of Air India. The seeds for Air India were sown way back in 1932 when JRD Tata flew a small aircraft between Karachi and Mumbai with mail. Impressed by the success of the flight, a former Royal Air Force officer offered to help him start a commercial airline service. This became the country's first India's air service called the Tata Airlines. The airline had a very humble beginning as the company was set up with an initial capital of just Rs 2 lakh. But ever since on its maiden flight between Mumbai and Delhi in 1937, the airline has never looked back and expanded and grown operations. Tata Airline turned into Air India in 1946 the same year it went public and became a joint stock company. Soon afterwards, the Tatas initiated the country's first experiment with public-private-partnership model offering the government to subscribe to 49 per cent of the airline's capital, while the group retaining 25 per cent stake, and rest of shares being given to the public. Tatas then wanted to transfer the management right to the government and therefore kept two per cent of its shareholding to be offered to the Centre to provide it full control of the airline. After taking control, the government in 1953 nationalised the airline with 100 per cent control with the state. Before its nationalisation, Air India International was born too, which took the carrier abroad with first flight between Mumbai and London in 1948. Soon, this operation was expanded to few other cities as well. The nationalisation of the carrier meant that Air India and Air India International were merged into a single state enterprise. But even under state control, JRD Tata continued as its Chairman, a post he held till 1977. In fact, he remained on Air India board till 1986 when Ratan Tata took over to run the airline as its new head. Under the government, Air India and domestic airline Indian Airline functioned till 2007 when a decision was taken to merge the airline into one entity. Soon after this merger, the airline stated showing signs of stress with losses mounting each passing year. In June 2017, the government finally approved privatisation of the airline with decision to divest its entire 100 per cent equity. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

PM Modi At UNGA; Meeting With Joe Biden, Harris 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September embarked on a historic three-day visit to the United States for the Quad Leaders’ Summit and the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He was hosted at the White House by US President Joe Biden for their first in-person bilateral meeting ahead of the sessions. The maiden bilateral visit of PM Modi was dubbed as a 'critical moment' for strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations. This was also the first-in-person address of PM Modi in the UNGA after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Prime Minister also met Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is the first-ever person of Indian origin to serve as the Vice President of the United States. She made history as the first woman and first woman of color to serve as the Vice President of the US. Harris was raised by a Jamaican father and an Indian-born mother. Besides holding formal talks, PM Modi also invited Vice President Kamala Harris to India saying people are waiting to welcome her. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

PM Modi Meeting With Pope Francis

On October 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Pope Francis, spiritual head of the 1.3 billion Catholics spread across the globe. The meeting took place at the Vatican City. He met Pope Francis on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome. Narendra Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to meet Pope Francis since he became head of the Catholic Church in 2013. The Prime Minister invited Pope Francis to visit India. Christians in India make up 2.4 per cent of the country's total population of 135 crore. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Tamil Nadu Helicopter Crash 

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others died after the Mi-17V5 helicopter they were flying in crashed in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The accident happened in foggy weather in the hills near Coonoor in Nilgiris district. Images from the crash site showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from the mangled remains of the helicopter. General Rawat was the country's first Chief of Defence Staff. He was appointed to the post on January 1, 2020. The helicopter was on its way to Defence Staff College in Wellington where General Rawat was to give a lecture. The helicopter crash was one of the deadliest in the history of military aviation. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Central Vista 

The Central Vista project was announced in 2019 and the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) is executing the project. The project is expected to cost around Rs 12,000 crore. It will be fully completed by 2024. The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the power corridor of the country -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the Prime Minister and the Vice President. PM Modi conducted a surprise inspection of the project site at night in September. Clad in a construction helmet, PM Modi arrived without prior intimation and security detail. He spent almost an hour at the site and did a first-hand inspection status of construction work. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICS

Kashi Vishwanath Corridor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor on December 19. With a paved 75-metre-wide corridor, the ambitious project worth more than Rs 900 crore, now connects Kashi Vishwanath temple and Ganga River. As many as 23 buildings, constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore, were inaugurated by PM Modi who also happens to be the local MP of Varanasi. The buildings provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting the temple, including yatri suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, Vedic kendra, Mumukshu bhavan, bhojshala, city museum, viewing gallery, food court, among others. The project, whose foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in 2019, connects the main temple with Lalita Ghat. Grand gateways and ornamental arches have been built in heritage architecture style in four directions, facing the ancient temple at its core. The project involved the purchase and acquisition of more than 300 properties around the temple. Nearly 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were rehabilitated amicably to pave way for the construction. Around Rs 450 crore was spent on the purchase of buildings. During demolition of buildings to pave the way for the project in 2018, over 40 ancient temples were found buried under the layers of concrete and plaster. They have now been conserved and made part of the project.

The project is now spread over a massive area of about over five lakh square feet while the earlier premises were limited to just around 3,000 square feet. About 70 per cent of the 5.50 lakh square feet area of the project has been kept for green cover. According to architect of the project, Bimal Patel, without tampering with the original structure of the temple, beautification work was carried out and world-class facilities had been put in place. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Ayodhya Deepotsav

Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya district created another world record after over 9 lakh earthen lamps (diyas) were lit along the banks of river Saryu in the land of Lord Ram on November 3. Apart from this, 3 lakh diyas were lit separately at different places in the holy city as part of the Diwali celebrations. This was the fifth consecutive Guinness World Record by Ayodhya for the largest display of diyas at Ram Ke Paidi.

It is worth mentioning here that Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya have been very special ever since the BJP formed government in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath. The government started celebrating deepotsav on Diwali eve since coming to power in UP in 2017. The celebrations in 2021 were the fifth deepotsav in Ayodhya. Earlier in 2019, a record 4,10,000 diyas were lit. In 2020, 6,06,569 earthen lamps were illuminated at the Ram Ki Paidi ghat, making a new Guinness World record. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

PM Modi's Diwali Celebrations With Jawans

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 4 met soldiers at the Nowshera sector in the border district of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Diwali.

 Since taking over as Prime Minister, he has made it a point to meet troops in a border region on Diwali, starting from a visit to Siachen in 2014. 

Nagaland Firing

On December 4, the Army's Special Forces, acting on specific intelligence, laid an ambush for insurgents in Nagaland. Six innocent people were killed when the ambush fired on a vehicle suspected to be ferrying the insurgents. The Army authorities were quick to acknowledge that it was a case of 'mistaken identity' and army personnel on the ground swiftly evacuated the two injured to a nearby hospital. As the evening progressed, angry locals attacked the Army personnel. One soldier was killed and many more were injured. Two army vehicles were burnt. In order to disperse the mob, the Army personnel opened fire and consequently, seven people died in the firing. Violence continued the following day, as the Company Operating Base of Assam Rifles in Mon town was attacked by an infuriated mob, compelling the forces to open fire to protect lives and property. One person was killed, and another injured in the firing. On December 6, Union Home Minister Amit Shah unequivocally regretted the incident in Parliament and ordered an interagency SIT to carry out the investigations and submit its report within a month. Additionally, a Court of Inquiry was ordered by the Indian Army. 

Assam-Mizoram Border Dispute

At least six Assam Police personnel were killed and several others suffered injuries in clashes at Assam-Mizoram border on July 26. Both the state's claim land on the border between Cachar in Assam and Kolasib in Mizoram. In October 2020, residents of Assam and Mizoram had clashed twice over the territory, leaving a dozen injured. Assam and Mizoram share a boundary of about 165 km. The border districts in Assam are Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. The border districts in Mizoram are Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit. READ MORE: What is Assam-Mizoram border dispute: Explained

Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics saw India winning 7 medals (1 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze). This was India's most successful Olympic campaign. Neeraj Chopra, the 24-year-old from Haryana, became the first athlete to win the gold medal in track and field for India in the Tokyo Olympics. Hopes were pinned on the javelin thrower and Neeraj delivered on the big stage by winning the yellow metal. The Indian men's hockey team also created history by winning the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics. After a gap of 41 years, the men's team defeated Germany 5-4 to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. CLICK HERE FOR TOP 10 OLYMPIC MOMENTS

Harnaaz Sandhu crowned Miss Universe 2021

Chandigarh's Harnaaz Sandhu, 21, won the Miss Universe 2021 title. Harnaaz, representing India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, brought home the crown, two decades after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000. The grand event was held in Eilat, Israel. Harnaaz bagged the title by defeating her fellow contestants from Paraguay and South Africa. She was crowned by her predecessor Andrea Meza from Mexico. CLICK HERE TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT HARNAAZ SANDHU

India-China Border Row

India and China achieved a major milestone in 2021 when the bilateral trade crossed USD 100 billion. However, it did not generate any fanfare as the two Asian giants were engaged in a major border standoff following a violent clash in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh in 2020. China violated agreements that led to the military standoff. The clash claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and more than 40 Chinese soldiers. It is the first deadly skirmish in decades between the two neighbours at their disputed border. The clash saw both sides gradually enhancing their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry. The disengagement started after a series of military-level talks between the two sides. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Vladimir Putin's India Visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 21st Annual Summit in New Delhi on 6th December. Though by normal diplomatic standards this official visit was a short one - President Putin was in Delhi for less than four hours, its timing and outcome were significant, both for bilateral relations and on key questions concerning the global situation. A Joint Statement was released at the conclusion of the Summit. 28 agreements and MOUs were concluded. Earlier that day, the first 2+2 meeting at the Ministerial level was held in addition to separate bilateral meetings, respectively, between the Foreign and Defence Ministers of both countries. Given the complications of the Covid pandemic, the restoration of physical meetings at the Summit level, after a gap of two years, is significant in its own right. The last bilateral Summit was held in September 2019, when Prime Minister Modi was chief guest at the Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

CMs Changed In 4 States

While the BJP changed its Chief Ministers in Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttarakhand (twice), the Congress changed its leadership in Punjab in 2021. In Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, 59, a first-time MLA, replaced Vijay Rupani in September. Rupani had become CM in 2016 following the resignation of incumbent Anandiben Patel, and continued in office after the BJP's victory in the 2017 state elections. In Karnataka, BS Yediyurappa resigned as Chief Minister in July with nearly two years to go before his tenure ended. His confidante Basavaraj Bommai was then sworn in. In Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat resigned nearly four months after becoming the CM. He resigned after it became evident that the Election Commission was against holding a bypoll with only a few months to go for elections. Tirath Singh Rawat, who was an MP, was then replaced by Pushkar Singh Dhami. As per the Constitution, even a person who is not a member of the Assembly can become a minister for six months. But he or she has to be elected within those six months to continue. Tirath Singh Rawat had become the CM after Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned in March.

In Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit, replaced Captain Amarinder Singh as the Chief Minister in September. Amarinder had resigned as the Chief Minister of Punjab on September 18 following months of infighting between him and Navjot Singh Sidhu. The development came just months ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. Singh had accused the Congress of humiliating him, a charge categorically denied by the party leaders. Amarinder then floated a new political party -- Punjab Lok Congress. He has joined the ranks with the BJP for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Zero Carbon Goal by 2070

At the COP26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2070. By 2030, he said that India will reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 45 per cent (that's of all greenhouse gasses, not just CO2). Net-zero emission is reached when all man-made greenhouse gas emissions are removed from the atmosphere through reduction measures helping global temperature to stabilise. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Uttarakhand Disaster 

The disaster began in February in the environs of the Nanda Devi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was caused by a large rock and ice avalanche consisting of material dislodged from Ronti peak. The avalanche caused large-scale damage to the NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project besides totally demolishing the Rishiganga hydel project. This also caused flooding in the Chamoli district. The NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project was destroyed. The disaster killed over 300 and several went missing. Most were workers at the Tapovan dam site. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Expressways & Airports in UP

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the country, has an expressway network today of around 800 km. The latest addition being the 341-km Purvanchal Expressway which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It connects Lucknow and Ghazipur near the Bihar border in the east. The expressway projects in Uttar Pradesh are intertwined with politics. Be it the Yamuna Expressway (165-km) or the Agra-Lucknow expressway, they have remained the headline achievement for three successive governments. Another 1,000 km is in the pipeline. This includes Ganga Expressway (Meerut to Prayagraj, 594 km); Bundelkhand Expressway (Chitrakoot to Etawah, 296 km) and Gorakhpur Link Expressway (Azamgarh to Gorakhpur, 91 km).

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the country, is all set to become the only state in the country to have five international airports. After international airports in Lucknow (Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport), Varanasi (Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport) and Kushinagar, the state will soon get two more international airports in Noida and Ayodhya. The Kushinagar International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October. It connects Buddhist pilgrimage sites around the world. Currently, Uttar Pradesh has eight operational airports -- Lucknow, Varanasi, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Agra, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Hindon (Ghaziabad). CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Cryptocurrency 

Amidst the tremendous price swings in the crypto market, the government said that it will introduce a bill to regulate crypto assets and cryptocurrencies in India in the Winter Session of Parliament. However, the bill was not introduced. The government is likely to introduce the bill in 2022 after wider deliberations with stakeholders. Earlier in 2019 and in February 2021, the government had tried to bring legislation to regulate crypto but those efforts had to be abandoned. Prior to that, in 2018, the Reserve Bank of India had issued an order prohibiting banking support for the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, which was overturned by the Supreme Court due to the lack of legislative force. Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had even held a meeting on cryptocurrencies with senior officials and indicated that strong regulatory steps could be taken to deal with the issue. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Aryan Khan’s Arrest In Drugs On Cruise Case

Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, 23, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3 for his alleged involvement in the drugs-on-cruise case. After several court hearings and a lot of grilling by the NCB, he was granted bail on October 28 and he walked out of Arthur Road Jail on October 30. The NCB had claimed that it had evidence against Aryan along with his two other friends (Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha) that linked them to international drug trafficking. It, however, said that Aryan was not individually found in possession of any banned drugs. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE

Raj Kundra’s Arrest In Pornography Case

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty's husband and businessman Raj Kundra was arrested in July 19 over his involvement in the production and circulation of pornographic films via various OTT platforms. Kundra was granted bail in September at a surety of Rs 50,000. During the investigation, Shilpa Shetty categorically denied knowing anything of the matter. CLICK HERE FOR CELEB CONTROVERSIES OF 2021

Cyclones That Hit India

India witnessed four cyclones -- Gulab, Tauktae, Yaas and Jawadin 2021, leaving behind a trail of destruction across several states. Gulab was a storm that impacted eastern states on September 24. It made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on September 26, 2021, but was weakened. Tauktae was a powerful, deadly and damaging tropical cyclone that became the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Gujarat since the 1998 cyclone. Tauktae began to parallel the coast of the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, before intensifying into a very severe cyclonic storm on May 16. It intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm, making landfall on a subsequent day near the coast of Gujarat. Tauktae brought heavy rainfall and flash floods to areas along the coast of Kerala and on Lakshadweep. There were reports of heavy rain in the states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra as well. It resulted in at least 169 deaths in the country and left more than 80 people missing. Yaas was a strong and very damaging tropical cyclone that made landfall in Odisha in May. It also affected West Bengal. Around 20 people across India and Bangladesh died due to Yaas. Although Jawad was a weak tropical cyclone, it caused major disruptions over Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal while bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds over these states as a weakened system.

Rains In Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu 

Maharashtra saw heavy rainfall in 2021. The most affected regions are the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. Due to heavy rains, more than 1,020 villages are affected in these districts. As many as 250 people died and over 100 are still missing. Goa also witnessed the worst flood in decades. Another state that was badly affected by heavy rainfall was Tamil Nadu. Several districts including the capital Chennai were flooded due to continuous downpour in November. Several people lost their lives and thousands were displaced due to the incessant rainfall.